SURGE Emerging Leaders Program

The Mission of the SURGE Emerging Leaders Program is to identify, equip and train passionate leaders for Kingdom Ministry within Adult & Teen Challenge.

SURGE ELP is an eighteen-month, intensive leadership training program designed to invest in our rising leaders and prepare them to expand God’s Kingdom. In this program, students learn how to lead like Jesus. We challenge our students to draw strength from God and grow as people and Christian leaders.

Five primary outcomes comprise the SURGE ELP: Identity, Stewardship, Communication, Leadership, and Biblical Foundation. These outcomes are cultivated in our students in various ways. There are seven foundational courses in which students engage with various inputs as a cohort and participate in weekly discussion classes to process the material they are working through. These seven courses are covered in the first twelve months of the SURGE ELP.

Once students complete the foundational courses, they choose elective courses that will equip them in their specific context within the ministry. Some available tracks are Ready Now Recovery, Admissions, PSNL Certification, GSNL Teaching, and Development & Fundraising. Our Academic Mentor/Proctor follows and supports students’ academic progress, while our Organizational Mentor offers spiritual care and influences cultural alignment in our students.

2024 Graduates

2023 Graduates

2022 Graduates

2021 Graduates

2020 Graduates

SURGE History

SURGE was launched in July, 2017. Pastor Bruce became the SURGE Director and Sister Ellen the SURGE Facilitator, teaching classes and do the administration of the program. The SURGE program met a need right from the start, with students from all centres in the Adult and Teen Challenge of Central Canada ministry as well as from BC Adult and Teen Challenge centres applying.

Pastor Bruce & Ellen Ford – Founding Ministers of SURGE ELP

When I was introduced to crystal meth my life spiralled completely out of control and sadly this went on for years before I finally came to the end of myself and knew I needed help. I entered the Adult & Teen Challenge Manitoba Women’s Campus and everything changed. God met me there and showed me a new meaning and purpose for my life.

At age 13, I experimented with ecstasy, marijuana and alcohol. I felt worthless and hopeless and the next 17 years my drug use escalated into crack cocaine and fentanyl. I had been charged with many criminal offences and my lawyer told me about Adult & Teen Challenge. I was accepted to Thunder Bay men’s program and a month later I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour and was baptised. I have learned how God loves me and has a plan for my life, discovering my true identity in Christ. He healed me, giving me joy, peace and purpose.

Before I entered the Adult & Teen Challenge program I used and sold drugs. I was a violent person and did things that landed me in jail. I believed I was coming to the end of myself with my only options being death by drugs, violence or spending the rest of my life in jail. But God had a different plan. During my last time in jail I committed the next year to ATC because of the love of my family and Robby Ahuja. Getting to know Jesus has changed my life. Slowly but surely he is growing inside me. I sing and I dance because He lives in my heart. Now I have love and forgiveness and am committed for life

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Head Office, Winnipeg MB
83 Kate St. Winnipeg MB R3A 1J9
888-822-9992

Our mission is to offer a full range of addiction, treatment and recovery services with compassion and excellence.

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At Adult & Teen Challenge of Central Canada, we respectfully acknowledge that our work takes place on the traditional territories of many Indigenous peoples. In Saskatchewan, we operate on Treaty 4, Treaty 5, and Treaty 6 lands, which are the traditional territories of the Cree, Saulteaux, Dakota, Lakota, Nakota, and Métis peoples. In Manitoba, our services span across Treaty 1, Treaty 2, Treaty 3, Treaty 4, and Treaty 5 territories, home to the Anishinaabe, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota, Dene, and Métis peoples. In Ontario, we work on the lands covered by Treaty 3 and Treaty 5, traditional territories of the Anishinaabe, Cree, Oji-Cree, and Métis peoples.

We honor the enduring connection of these Nations to the land and commit to walking in partnership, respect, and reconciliation. Through our programs, we aim to foster healing, growth, and transformation, while acknowledging the rich history, and contributions of Indigenous peoples across these lands.